


Piglet

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Series: Gibbs' Family [22]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Play, Anorexia, Anthony DiNozzo Sr's A+ Parenting, Chinese Food, Eating Disorders, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Non-Sexual Age Play, To Be Continued, Tony Feels, bottles, that is not actual Chinese i have been informed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-27 21:33:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10817175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: It's been a while since I brought up Tony's eating disorder, so it's time to make him SufferTM....Alternatively, Kate sees Tony stuff his face with food and makes a poor-spirited snide comment.





	Piglet

It was a late night at the office and Kate and DiNozzo were still pouring over files. The only difference from regular office hours in the bullpen was that they had Chinese food on their desks. And that they were reading by desk lamps rather than sunlight. Kate wrinkled her nose as she noticed DiNozzo practically inhaling his Chinese. She didn't understand why he would waste good money on food if he wasn't even going to appreciate it, and instead just shove it into his face as fast as possible. She ate her own food slowly, finishing one carton and throwing it away to find DiNozzo already going through his dessert. "Better be careful," she warned. "If you eat too much you'll wind up looking like the pig you are!"

DiNozzo stared at her blankly for a moment, before finishing the cookie he had in his hand and pushing the last few away, turning back to his work silently.

Kate was a bit startled at the sudden shift in DiNozzo's character, and wondered if she had struck some sort of nerve unwittingly. "Hey, Tony, I was just teasing, you know that right?"

"Yeah," he said hollowly. "What else would you be doing?"

"If I accidentally hurt you--"

"Nah, you didn't," DiNozzo cut her off. "Just reminded me I should probably eat a little less. My calorie intake has to be bigger than what I'm burning."

"Yeah, well, not _that_  bigger, Tony," Kate laughed. "You do an awful lot of running."

DiNozzo shrugged, and Kate knew that she had done something wrong, and was ready to get to the bottom of it when Gibbs walked in growling and all her attention dropped to the files on her desk. She scanned the files until Gibbs stopped snarling at them for a lead, and by then she had forgotten about her misspoken words with DiNozzo. She worked and worked until she was starting to drift off, and so she curled up under her desk and took a nap for a few hours to catch up on needed sleep.

The next morning she woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of someone at her desk. She sat up to find DiNozzo reading her files, a fresh coffee cup next to them, along with a bagel. "Did you get me this?" she asked him.

DiNozzo nodded, continuing to read. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. Figured one of us needed to eat something, and it might as well be the one who got a wink of sleep last night."

"You stayed up all night?" Kate asked, a bit incredulous. "You must be starving! And how are you not falling asleep standing up?"

"Caffeine, my dear Katie-Kate," DiNozzo said, pointing to his own desk where there lay another half dozen coffee-cups. "And I'm not that hungry. I staggered the last of my cookies."

"Oh," Kate said. "That's actually...pretty smart."

"Well, I do know a thing or two about keeping myself alive, Kate. Gibbs doesn't hold my hand _all_  the way through it," DiNozzo snarked.

"No, just through the parts like remembering to go to the bathroom before bed and to brush your teeth, right?" Kate said with a grin.

DiNozzo rolled his eyes at her and went back to his desk. "We have to get through these files," he said.

Kate nodded and picked up her bagel, starting to eat. She noticed that DiNozzo didn't have anything to eat on his desk, and she felt a little worried. She didn't make him feel like he couldn't eat around her, did she? "You not eating breakfast?"

"Had some on the way back from the coffee shop," DiNozzo said, not even bothering to look up at her. "You trying to be my mother now?"

Kate pulled a face. "Ew. No."

They worked in silence until DiNozzo grunted. "Here's something interesting. Petty Officer Johnson appears in both victims' lives just weeks before their deaths. Neither our marine nor his brother were on the same ship as Johnson was deployed on until recently. Could be nothing, could be a lead."

Kate nodded. "Go tell Gibbs, I'll get the truck."

They parted ways and Kate found her mind drifting back to last night. DiNozzo didn't show any emotions on his face, which was something he only did when he was really hurt or really ticked. Considering she wasn't dead, and neither the bagel or coffee were obviously poisoned, she had to go with the train of thought that she had actually hurt him somehow.

She forcibly pushed the thought out of her mind. That was not something she wanted to confront Tony about in the field, especially not in front of Gibbs. She could work on it when they got back.

Hopefully.

Their suspect was in custody, and all Johnson was doing was asking for a lawyer. Kate was down talking with Abby about what they could possibly do to nail this guy on her end when DiNozzo swaggered in. "Hey, Abs, is Gibbs here?"

Abby shook her head, pigtails swaying. "No? Why, do you need him?"

DiNozzo took a few steps forward and Kate realized what she thought was a swagger was actually stumbling. "Woah, Tony, okay, sit down, before you pass out," she instructed.

The fact that he actually sat down in the chair she guided him to and didn't try to get up immediately after told her that something was definitely wrong. Her heart leapt into overdrive and she turned to Abby. "Abby, get Gibbs, _now_ ," she instructed. "I'm gonna make sure Tony's okay."

Abby nodded and wordlessly left the room, and Kate tapped DiNozzo on the cheek. "Hey, Tony, stay with me. What happened?"

"Jus' felt dizzy," he mumbled. "Then the world was spinning and tilting on its side and I..." he trailed off. Swallowed. Blinked and squinted at Kate. "I dunno. How'd I get here, anyway?"

Okay, not good. Maybe she needed to address a few things. Like, _now_. "Did you actually eat breakfast this morning? And don't lie to me."

He nodded. "Had toast," he mumbled. "But didn't have lunch."

Kate could have cursed him for being so stupid, but she knew that it was her own fault for teasing him. "Is this about what I said last night, Tony? I was way out of line and I never should have even said anything. I'm really sorry."

DiNozzo spaced out, eyes glazing over, and when Kate was about to try and snap him out of it, Tony popped up in his place. "Hurt me," he mumbled.

"I know, and I'm really sorry," Kate said, feeling her heart pound harder in her chest until she thought she'd burst. "Hey, Gibbs is coming down to make sure you're all right, sound good? He can get something for you to eat."

Tony shook his head rapidly and nearly fell out of his chair. "No..." he said.

"Why not?" Kate asked, sinking feeling already appearing in her stomach.

"Don' wanna be a pig," Tony said, tears coming to his eyes.

"Tony, please, you have to believe me, that's not true," Kate begged. "It was a bad joke, and not true at all! Please! You clearly need to take a nap and eat something!"

"No!" Tony hollered. "Not gonna!"

Gibbs and Abby ran in the room and Kate, panicked, took a step back from Tony. Katie was burning just underneath the surface, filled with guilt and shame and wailing away at what she had caused. Gibbs grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Kate, what did you say to him?"

Trying to keep her breathing level, Kate said, "I told him that you were coming and he could take a nap and eat. He said he was really dizzy, so I figured..."

"No, I got that," Gibbs said impatiently. "I'm talking about _last night_. What did you say?!"

Katie snapped forward and started to shake. "I...I thought Tony was eating too much to fast and I told him he was gonna look like the pig he was acting like if he kept eating like that."

Dad glared at her and Abby stood behind him, open-mouthed. When Dad turned to talk to Tony, Abby rushed over and dragged Katie back into her office. "Katie, I know you meant to be joking, but that's the worst possible thing you could have ever said!" she exclaimed.

Katie shook harder and started to cry. "I didn't mean it!" she exclaimed.

"I know that, and you know that, but what you _don't_  know is that Tony's recovering from an eating disorder!" Abby whispered.

Katie sobbed and looked down at the floor, guilt eating her alive. "I d-d-didn't kno-know..." she cried.

Abby hugged her tight and let go to look out at where Gibbs was talking to Tony. "You _have_  to apologize!" she exclaimed.

"I did, over and over and over, and he wouldn't listen!" Katie exclaimed. "It's too late, and he's never gonna forgive me, and this is all _my fault_  and--"

Her tirade was interrupted by Dad poking his head in. "You still have that bottle of nutritional shake I gave you, Abs?" he asked.

Abby nodded and went to her refrigerator, pulling it out from the back and handed it to Dad. "Think he'll take it?" she asked.

"He'd better," Dad said. "If not, I'll have to take him down to Ducky to see if he needs medical attention."

Katie cried harder and Dad looked at her with a mix of anger and pity. "I'll be dealing with you in a minute," he promised. "Once Tony takes his bottle. Abby, keep an eye on her."

Abby nodded and lead Katie toward a chair when Dad left. Katie continued to cry, swiping at her eyes. "H-h-he hates me..." she sobbed.

"Gibbs doesn't hate you, Katie, he could never hate you!" Abby protested.

"N-not Dad," she sniffled. "T-T-Tony."

Abby's face fell. She looked out through the glass doors to where Tony and Dad were arguing about the bottle. "Tony doesn't hate you," Abby said after a prolonged silence. "He's hurt, yeah, and it might take him a while to forgive you. But you're his sister. He doesn't hate you."

Dad glared at Tony in the other room and Tony sullenly took the bottle, starting to suck on it. Then Dad turned and started to walk towards Katie and Abby. Katie squeezed Abby's hand. "Can you stay with me in case he starts to yell?" she asked.

"He won't yell," Abby said softly. "But someone has to look after Tony in case he tries to bolt before he's finished his meal. And Gibbs needs to talk to you, and I'm the only other person here."

Katie swallowed and nodded. She understood that Tony needed to be looked after, especially after her screw-up. Abby smiled sympathetically and moved toward the door, walking out as Dad walked in. Dad closed the door behind him, and Katie flinched despite herself. Dad was mostly nice, but if you screwed up, he didn't sugarcoat it. She wanted to get everything over with, but at the same time she didn't want this to ever start.

Dad sighed and pulled up a chair across from hers. He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them and rested them on his knees, then crossed them again. He was just as uncomfortable with this as she was. "What were you _thinking_ , Katie?" he asked after an eternity of waiting.

Katie looked away and shrugged. "I...I don't know! Tony was practically stuffing his face and I thought it was gross and I just wanted him to slow down, but then he _stopped_  instead! And he didn't start again. I was gonna talk to him about it but he kept on moving back toward the case and I didn't get the chance until he almost passed out."

Dad kneaded his forehead. "Katie, DiNozzo is a recovering anorexic. You shouldn't say that to _anyone_ , but especially not him!"

Katie's eyes stung with fresh tears. "I...I wish I knew. And I wish that I could take it back. B-bu-but-"

"-You can't do anything to change that, I know. It's part of life, sweetheart," Dad said.

"Is there any way I could make it up to him?" she asked softly.

"Don't push him," Dad said. "Keep apologizing and eventually he'll believe you. Try not to say anything when he eats. And most importantly, don't get hung up on this. Acknowledge your mistake, and make sure Tony knows that you know what you did wrong, and don't do it again. That's the best and quickest way to get him to forgive you."

Katie nodded, but looked scared of her next question. "...What about you?"

Dad sighed and hugged her. "Oh, honey. I know what you did was a mistake, and I know you're sorry for it. I already forgave you. I'm still mad, of course, and you need to know that's not all right, but I can't hate you over a thoughtless mistake, okay?"

Katie nodded and pulled out of the embrace, rubbing at her eyes. "I deserve any punishment you want to give. What's it going to be?"

"You're paying for food whenever we eat in the next two cases, and that means everyone, and everything. No matter how much Tony wants to eat, you're buying."

Katie blinked. "That's...not that bad?"

Dad smiled. "And it'll help Tony feel better about eating what he wants around you. Two birds, one stone."

Katie nodded. "Thanks for not exploding at me, Dad."

"Oh, believe me, that wouldn't be fair to you," Dad said. "Not considering what Tony's going to do in his revenge."

"What's he gonna do?" Katie asked.

"Once he feels better about eating again and knows you're buying? Stuff his face as fast and as much as possible," Dad laughed.

Katie sighed. She deserved it, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't hate me too much! I have the sequel made in advance for this one, so there's no chance of me forgetting to write it! Hopefully I'll post it within the next few days, too!


End file.
